UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State has collected more than 10,000 candy wrappers during its 2012–2013 season. Through an innovative recycling program, that translates into more than 400 free meals for hungry Americans. Thanks to a TerraCycle program called the Candy Wrapper Brigade, which awards points for each wrapper collected, the Center for the Performing Arts is able to provide 415 meals through Feeding America. The charity, with a mission to provide nourishment to America’s hungry, uses a nationwide network of member food banks.

Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and author of "Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle is Redefining Green Business," will be a featured speaker April 18 during Penn State’s Earth Days. TerraCycle collects trash and turns it into reusable items.

The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation outlines recycling tips as Easter Sunday approaches.   As Rhode Islanders make plans to celebrate the Easter holiday, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is reminding residents that many of the prized, colorful favors that go hand-in-hand with the holiday are not recyclable. In an effort to streamline operations at RIRRC’s Materials Recycling Facility, the agency has outlined a handful of helpful recycling tips.

As Rhode Islanders make plans to celebrate the Easter holiday, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) is reminding residents that many of the prized, colorful favors that go hand-in-hand with the holiday are not recyclable. In an effort to streamline operations at RIRRC’s Materials Recycling Facility, the agency has outlined a handful of helpful recycling tips.

We’ve all heard it – “save the planet”, “go green”, “reduce, reuse, recycle.”  Here’s an easy way to do just that and potentially earn money for your group or charity through TerraCycle.

Tennyson Elementary School is feeling green. Through the TerraCycle program, students and faculty at Tennyson have been cutting down waste by focusing on recycling Theresa Underhill and Alyssa Bruner are Green Team leaders for the project. Three fifth grade students also make up the Green Team — Lyla Schmitt, Warren Koss and Josh Grosvenor.

TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. Capri Sun – Honest Kids juice pouches can be recycled by Terracycle as can Candy Wrappers, Starbucks Coffee bags, Zip Loc Bags, pens, Cookie Wrappers, Colgate toothpaste, and more. Yes this is more involved, so try to get your local community or school involved.

Recycling has been one of the biggest movements in response to pollution, and dealing with the huge amounts of waste produced by today’s society. Of the biggest problems with recycling is that there are a lot of plastics, and other products that aren’t recyclable yet. A lot of progress has happened recently in recycling abilities, but there are many products and luxuries that we use today that come in packaging that isn’t easily recycled. This is where the company Terracycle comes in. Terracycle is a company that collects hard to recycle wastes and either recycles the materials, or upcylces them for new purposes.

Do you know about TerraCycle? This company runs recycling collection programs for previously on-recyclable items, such as drink pouches, diaper packaging, candy and energy bar wrappers, dairy tubs, and household cleaner packaging. They recently added the ability to recycle cigarette waste. Much of the collected items are upcycled into new products that are sold on their website or through retailers they’ve partnered with, such as Target. Some is turned into pellets or other forms that then are converted into building materials. Recycling programs are organized into ‘Brigades’ by waste type. Some materials collections are done with partners such as Bear Naked and Athenos. Sign up for a Brigade online, create your own collection box, and start gathering your recyclables. Collection boxes at a place of work or at a school will help to collect items faster. Terracycle suggests creating a collection box that clearly indicates what you are looking for and placing the collection box in a well-trafficked location. Items don’t have to be cleaned or neatly stacked/packaged prior to donation, making the process simpler. Use odor-blocking plastic bags in your collection box to contain smells and liquid drips. Terracycle provides a collection and mailing guide on their website.

As many of you have heard, E-Club has set-up new recycling centers in the cafeteria in an attempt to help our school become a waste free environment. Many of the materials that students and faculty can recycle are the same, but these stations make everything more centralized. Hard plastics, such as utensils and yogurt containers, can be recycled, as well as cans and glass. The recycling centers also have appropriate bins for granola bar wrappers, candy wrappers, juice pouches, chip bags, and Ziploc bags.